1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of sports games. More particularly, the invention is a basketball card game that uses dice and cards in combination to score and determine play action events.
2. Description of Related Art
There are a number of different types of games that represent various different sporting events, such as, basketball and baseball. Many known games commonly use game boards, playing pieces, spinner dials, dice, cards, and other devices for executing the game. U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,173 issued to Crowder and U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,043 issued to Carter each describe a baseball card game played without a game board. U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,653 issued to Murphy et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,186,928 issued to Hunt, Jr., and U.S. Pat. No. 1,594,807 issued to Wurth each describe a basketball game played with a game board. In addition, Murphy et al. also uses cards. The prior art sports games can be typified by their complexity of play. The objective behind most of the prior art is to provide a game that simulates the flow of events in a real game of baseball or basketball. Accordingly, prior art games use a wide variety of methods to involve elements of both strategy and chance to achieve a realistic flow of events in the game. Playing a real game of baseball or basketball involves a tremendous number of variables dependent on both strategy and chance. Thus, the prior art games generally involve a complex arrangement of information that is manipulated by strategy, chance or both to yield a realistic flow of events in playing the game.
Many known prior art basketball games require a game board to be played. Generally, the game board has the appearance of a basketball court, but it serves a multitude of purposes in executing the game. In Murphy et al., the game board designates spaces marked around the periphery of the game board. After a roll of dice, a player moves a token around the periphery of the game board and, depending on which space they reach, answers a selected trivia question. The game board also has a miniature basketball goal mounted to the game board and, if the trivia question is answered correctly, then the player shoots a miniature basketball at the goal in an attempt to score. In Hunt, Jr., the game board incorporates a series of offensive and defensive position spaces where a player may locate offensive and defensive athlete tokens. Also, multiple spinner dials are mounted to the game board. Using the spinner dials, players control movements of a ball token between offensive and defensive athletes positioned on the game board with the ultimate goal of moving the ball token into the spot designated as the basketball goal. In Wurth, the game board also incorporates several spinner dials that dictate the outcome of play action. The spinner dials address such play action topics as shots, fouls, jump balls, delays in play, out of bounds ball and other play actions.
Since all known prior art basketball games use game boards, it can be implied from the art that a game board is necessary to yield a realistic flow of events. Unfortunately, the game boards are rather bulky and require tokens for playing the game that can easily become lost. To prevent such loss, the game boards and tokens are typically stored in a box that is similarly bulky. As indicated above, game boards are also known to include a basketball goal and playing the game includes tossing a miniature ball through the goal or snapping a chip from the board through the goal. Tossing a miniature ball or snapping a chip can be a difficult task that interrupts the flow of events simulating a real game and only slightly resembles shooting a basket in a real game of basketball.
Similar to game boards, using a spinner dial to generate random events in a basketball game adds bulk to the game apparatus. Prior art games incorporate spinner dials directly into the game board, however, it would be within the general game art to use spinner dials separate from the game board. Even if a separate spinner dial were used, bulk is still added. The spinner dials used in the prior art dictate by an element of chance how the flow of events in a game will occur. To accomplish this objective, more than simply a few dials are incorporated into the game board, again adding to the bulk. Further, use of spinner dials overemphasizes the element of chance in playing the game. To accurately simulate the flow of a real basketball game, players in a game should possess at least some capability to strategically control the flow of events, similar to calling plays in a real game. Prior art games, particularly those with spinner dials, rely almost solely on the element of chance to control the flow of events. In a real game of basketball, the athletes have established shooting percentages, thus, it can be said that with each field goal attempted there is a specified chance of success. However, movement of the ball in a real game between athletes into a scoring position is largely a matter of skill and strategy. Accordingly, a game that leaves to chance the plays that are executed in a game is unlike a real game of basketball. Similarly, a game that incorporates an element of chance into a field goal attempt and a predominant element of strategy in the plays that are executed is more like a real game of basketball.
Another mechanism for incorporating an element of chance in a prior art game is a die. The prior art teaches use of a common six-sided die or a pair of such dice, but the function of the die or dice differs widely among the art. In one basketball game (Murphy et al.) using a game board, the result from roll of a die indicates how far a player will move a token through designated spaces marked around the periphery of the game board. Depending on which space they reach, the player answers a selected trivia question to gain the opportunity to shoot a miniature basketball at a miniature goal in an attempt to score. Thus, the dice are used to select a trivia question.
In a baseball card game (Crowder) without a game board, an imaginary pitcher plays against an imaginary batter. The pitcher is portrayed by a card bearing a matrix of batting results most favorable to the defensive player whom the pitcher represents. Similarly, the batter is portrayed by a card bearing a matrix of batting results most favorable to the offensive player whom the batter represents. The die is used to determine whether the pitcher card or the batter card will be used. An odd-numbered result of the die indicates the pitcher card, while an even-numbered result indicates the batter card. Thus, the dice are used simply to select what matrix will be used to establish a batting result.
Yet another baseball card game (Carter) without a game board also uses dice, but the dice are specially adapted to the game. Instead of numerals between one and six on the six sides of one die, the die indicates the letter P on three sides and the letter B on three sides. Similar to the game described above, rolling a P on the die indicates a pitcher card will be used, while rolling a B on the die indicates a batter card will be used. Two other dice are also used, the six sides of which are numbered one through six, but one die is marked as being the die to read first. The result on the die read first constitutes the first digit in a two-digit number and the result on the die read second constitutes the second digit in a two digit number. The two-digit number is then used to select a batting result from a numbered list of batting results on the pitcher or batter card. Accordingly, the dice are used both to select what list will be used to establish a batting result and to select a batting result from the list.
As seen from the description above regarding three prior art games using dice, the result shown on a die bears no independent significance in prior art sports games. Rather, the result shown on a die must be used in conjunction with some other game element such as a game board, list of questions, matrix of results or list of results. By linking the die result with some other element, the complexity of the game is increased, the die cannot determine a result by itself other than to tell a player how to manipulate another mechanism that will determine a play action event.
Another common mechanism in prior art games are cards. The prior art teaches use of cards sized similarly to common playing cards, but the function of the cards and the indicia written thereon differ widely among the art. In one basketball game (Murphy et al.) using a game board, a player answers a selected trivia question from a card to gain the opportunity to shoot a miniature basketball at a miniature goal in an attempt to score. The position of a token on designated spaces marked around the periphery of the game board dictates what question must be answered from the list of questions on a card. Thus, the cards are used to select a trivia question that may qualify a player to attempt to score. The strategy element in a game of this type is practically nonexistent, while the chance element is associated with selecting a trivia question to ask.
In one baseball card game (Crowder) without a game board, a player selects hypothetical team members from a group of athlete cards to which each is assigned performance criteria. The performance criteria are embodied in a matrix printed on each card, wherein the matrix reflects the increased likelihood of better skilled batters to successfully get on base, or the increased likelihood of better skilled pitchers to prevent a batter from getting on base. Either the pitcher or batter matrix is randomly selected using the result from roll of a die each time a new batter card is presented at bat, then a play action event is randomly selected from the matrix with the aid of standard playing cards. The standard playing cards act as a random number generator, wherein the number on a card taken from a draw pile of such cards dictates the row selected on the pitcher or batter matrix and the suit on a card dictates the column. Thus, the cards in a prior art game of this type are used to identify individual team members, provide performance criteria in a matrix, and generate a random character. The strategy element in playing a game of this type includes choosing athletes that perform the best and arranging the athletes in a playing order that is advantageous to winning the game. The chance element includes determining the play action events that occur in the game.
Yet another baseball card game (Carter) without a game board also uses cards with a function similar to the baseball card game described above. A player selects hypothetical team members from a group of athlete cards to which each is assigned performance criteria. The performance criteria are embodied in a list printed on each card that is substantially similar in function to the matrix described above. Also, either the pitcher or batter list is randomly selected using a die, then a generic play action event is randomly selected from the list with the aid of two other dice. The generic play action event is then compared to other reference cards to determine the specific result in the flow of events considering other factors such as the stadium or field in which the imaginary game is being played. Thus, the cards in a prior art game of this type are used to identify individual team members, provide performance criteria in a matrix, and provide additional reference data that dictates the outcome of play action events. As described above, the strategy element includes choosing and arranging the batting order of athletes while the chance element includes determining the play action events that occur in the game.
Thus, it can be seen from the above discussion that it would be an improvement in the art to provide a sports game played with compact apparatus that is simple to execute yet possesses a flow of events similar to real sports. Specifically, this means providing a simple, compact basketball card game wherein players strategically determine what play action events to enter as in real basketball and certain play action events are modified or dictated by an additional element of chance.